17. The Commission then made the following allocation of preparatory work on draft standards, either to existing outside specialist bodies in accordance with its general policy (see Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Standards, Geneva, October 1962, para. 30), or to ad hoc Expert Committees of member countries under Rule IX.1(b).1 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure. The Commission's program of preparatory work resulting from … these allocations is set out in the form of a table in Appendix D.
18. The Commission had before it in particular the following documentation:
Background paper on international food additive work prepared by the Secretariat
Report of the 2nd Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives, June 1963
Notes on the food additives work of the Council of Europe, the European Economic Community and the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now the Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission, see para. 66), prepared by those bodies.
19. The Commission decided to set up a world-wide Expert Committee on this key subject with the following terms of reference:
To consider the draft lists of acceptable food additives together with the reports of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee* on Food Additives upon which they are based, in the light of Government comments made thereon, in order
to draw up a revised draft list of acceptable additives, and
to survey and designate wherever possible proposed maximum levels of use for these additives in individual foods. For this purpose expert committees of the Codex Commission on individual product standards and specialized international non-governmental organizations are invited to make available to the Secretariat information which they may have compiled on additives used in food products, for submission to and possible finalization by the Codex Commission.
The Commission adopted a proposal that the Netherlands Government should accept responsibility for this Expert Committee; the Netherlands Government gave its acceptance and was designated to this effect under Rule IX.8 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure. The Commission requested this Expert Committee to take particular account of the work on food additives of the Council of Europe and the European Economic Community - work to which the delegate of France attached particular importance - in order to avoid any duplication.
20. The Commission had before it in particular the following documentation:
Background paper on international work on pesticide residues, prepared by the Secretariat
Note on the pesticide residues work of the Council of Europe, prepared by that body.
21. The Commission decided to set up a world-wide Expert Committee on this subject with the following terms of reference:
To consider the pesticides for which acceptable daily intakes will have been established by the FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues meeting jointly* with the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues, in order to survey and propose where possible tolerances for pesticide residues in individual foods. The Commission requested this Expert Committee to take account in particular of the work on pesticide residues foreseen by the Council of Europe in order to avoid duplication.*
The Commission adopted a proposal that the Netherlands Government should also accept responsibility for this Expert Committee; the Netherlands Government gave its acceptance and was designated to this effect under Rule IX.8.
22. The Commission had before it in particular the following documentation:
A note on the work of ISO TC/34, prepared by that body
The relevant chapter from the draft Latin-American Food Code.
23. The Commission requested the Secretariat to draw up for submission to it at its next Session a concise résumé of current food labelling laws, with particular reference to those of countries participating actively in the work of the Commission. This résumé should cover provisions dealing with identity, net cońtents designations, indication of manufacturer and special requirements on type and style of label declarations. The Commission further requested the Secretariat to include as an appendix to this résumé the chapter on labelling set out in the draft Latin-American food Code.
24. The Commission had before it in particular the following documentation:
A note on the work of ISO TC/34, prepared by that body
A draft text on sampling, prepared by the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission).
25. The Commission requested ISO to develop methods of sampling for physically similar product groups and where necessary specific methods for important individual products, and to make a progress report to it for consideration at its next session. ISO agreed to undertake this work.
26. The Commission had before it in particular the following documentation:
Background paper on international work on methods of analysis, prepared by the Secretariat
Notes on the work of ISO TC/34, the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission), the European Economic Community, the International Wine Office, the International Olive Oil Council and the International Committee on Microbiologival Specifications for Foods, prepared in each case by those bodies.
27. The Commission accepted the offer of the Austrian government to continue its responsibility for organizing an Expert Committee on methods of analysis. This Expert Committee would henceforth work as a world-wide Expert Committee, open to all members of the Commission. The Commission further recommended the following principles for the guidance of this Expert Committee:-
The Expert Committee draws up a list of priorities in the light of the products for which Codex Standards are in preparation.
It determines in each case the best means of preparing each method of analysis required and refers the work to the appropriate outside organization or, where no such body is available, to research laboratories in any country member of the Commission.
In some cases, the Expert Committee may find that a method is already so well established and verified that it may be referred to the Commission for publication in the Codex without further study.
Methods selected should have been the object of extensive tests in several laboratories and the results given statistical treatment. Preference should be given to those already published or ready for publication by the originating body.
Methods should be such as to be capable of use in laboratories equipped with usual modern apparatus.
More than one method of analysis may be selected for the same test.
Where applicable, methods of analysis should conform to the “Guide on the form for methods of chemical analysis” set out in ISO Recommendation R. 78 - 1958*.
The Expert Committee should organize its work in such a manner as to keep under constant review all methods of analysis published in the Code.
The Expert Committee should maintain the closest possible relations with all interested organizations working on methods of analysis.
The Expert Committee should adopt wherever it may find appropriate the type of procedures now followed by the Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products (see Report of the Committee's 6th Session, Rome, June 1963, paras. 10–12).
The Expert Committee should recommend in each case whether the method of analysis should be published in the Codex in full or merely by bibliographic reference.
Since the elaboration of methods of analysis will take considerable time, the Codex should, as an interim measure, include references to existing practicable methods in each standard of composition pending the elaboration and/or revision of definitive methods.
28. The Commission had before it a note on meat hygiene, prepared by the Secretariat.
29. In respect of general questions of food hygiene, subject to paras. 30 and 31 below, the Commission set up a world-wide Expert Committee open to all member countries of the Commission. The Government of the USA was invited to accept responsibility for this Expert Committee and, following acceptance, was designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8. WHO Technical Report No. 104 would be circulated to all Members of the Commission participating in this Expert Committee for comment and use as a basic working document.
30. The Commission decided to treat the existing Joint FAO/WHO Expert Panel on meat hygiene as its advisory body on this question. The Commission further requested the Expert Panel to make recommendations on basic principles of meat hygiene, including microbiological standards, for later inclusion in the Codex following the Commission's normal procedures of acceptance through governments.
31. All questions concerning milk hygiene come within the terms of reference of the Joint FAO/WHO Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products, now a Committee of the whole of the Codex Commission functioning under Rule IX.1(a) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure (see para. 10 above).
32. The Commission had before it a note on the work of the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission), prepared by that body.
33. The Commission set up a world-wide Expert Committee, open to all member countries of the Commission, to elaborate draft standards for fats and oils of animal, vegetable and marine origin, but excluding margarine and oilve oil (see paras. 35–37 below).
34. The Government of the United Kingdom accepted responsibility for this Expert Committee and was designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8.
35. The Commission had before it a note on the work of the International Federation of Margarine Associations.
36. The Commission accepted an offer by the International Federation of Margarine Associations to elaborate a draft standard for margarine for early submission to the Commission and consideration in accordance with its usual procedures.
37. (See para. 66 below)
38. (See para. 10 above)
39. The Commission had before it background notes on meat hygiene and processed meat, prepared respectively by the Secretariat and the Danish Meat Research Institute.
40. The Commission decided to set up a world-wide Expert Committee to elaborate proposals for:
Classification and grading of carcasses and cuts of beef, lamb, mutton, pork and veal;
Definitions, labelling and other requirements for such processed meat products as the Expert Committee might feel desirable at this stage.
41. In view of the lead taken in this field by OECD as well as the programs of ISO and EAAP, with which the Federal Republic of Germany is closely associated, the Commission requested the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to undertake responsibility for this Expert Committee and to work for this purpose in cooperation with the standing Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Meat Hygiene. The Federal Republic of Germany accepted and was thereupon designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8. The Commission felt that the key position of the Meat Institute in Kulmbach and its close relations with OECD and ISO would put the Federal Republic of Germany in a good position to guide this work. The Commission recognized that this Expert Committee should be free to set up sub-committees to handle its wide field if it so desired.
42. The Commission agreed to take up at its next Session the question of draft standards for this important product in international food trade. The U.S.A. was requested and accepted to prepare a study for its consideration at that time.
43. The Commission had before it a note on the work of the projected International Egg Commission and on that earlier undertaken by ECE.
44. The Commission decided to defer to its next session consideration of this product, when it hoped to have more information on the program and structure of the International Egg Commission. It likewise requested the Economic Commission for Europe to defer reconsideration of its earlier work on standards for eggs until the Codex Commission would have considered the question in detail at its next session.
45. The Commission had before it a background note including statistical material on fish and fish products prepared by the Secretariat.
46. The Commission adopted a proposal made by the Secretariat foreseeing the establishment of a code of principles concerning fish and fish products. The Commission accepted the offer made to it that the preparatory work for this purpose could be conveniently entrusted to the Fisheries Division of FAO. FAO would then, where appropriate, consult specialists in this field, selected from countries members of FAO and WHO, in particular those associated with current work on fish and fish product standards. This work would be undertaken in the closest collaboration with OECD and such other interested international bodies as might be desirable. At a later session the Commission would reconsider the desirability of establishing an Expert Committee under Rule IX.1(b).1 in the light of the progress made on the preparatory work organized by FAO.
47. The Commission had before it in particular notes on the work in this field carried out by the European Economic Community and ISO TC/34, prepared by those bodies, and by the Secretariat on the work of ECE, the International Association for Cereal Chemistry and the London Corn Trade Association.
48. While of the opinion that further international work on grade standards for wheat appeared to be required, the Commission decided that it was first necessary to have greater uniformity in methods of sampling and analysis to provide a basis for uniform application of grade standards. The Commission therefore requested ISO to survey the work now in hand among the several interested organizations engaged on methods of sampling and analysis for wheat and to make the survey available to the Secretariat by the end of the year, in order to allow its submission to governments in good time before the Second Session of the Commission. This request was accepted by ISO.
49. The Commission had before it a note on the work of ECE in this field and was informed of the recommendation just made by the Third Session of the FAO Citrus Group (Rome, June 1963) for the extension to outside countries of the latest ECE European Standards for citrus fruit.
50. The Commission endorsed the comprehensive and successful program of the Economic Commission for Europe in this field and urged interested countries outside Europe to participate actively in its work as observers, as foreseen by Art. ll of the ECE Terms of Reference. The observer of OECD drew attention to his organization's scheme for the application of these standards and to the illustrated brochures it had issued for this purpose.
See also para. 66 below.
51. The Commission had before it in particular a background paper prepared by the United Kingdom Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and a note on the work of ECE and OECD in this field.
52. The Commission wished to give its full encouragement to the work on standards for frozen fruit and vegetables now planned by ECE and OECD.
53. The Commission had before it a background paper prepared by the United Kingdom Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
54. The Commission decided to set up a world-wide Expert Committee to cover all types of processed fruits and vegetables including dried products and jams and jellies. The Government of the U.S.A. was invited to accept responsibility for this Expert Committee and, following its acceptance, was designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8. The Commission requested this Expert Committee to make full use of the experience gained by France in earlier work on the subject undertaken on a European basis.
55. The Commission had before it a background paper on international work on fruit juice standards, in particular that of ECE and the International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers, prepared by the Secretariat, and a note by ECE.
56. The Commission warmly welcomed the recommendation made by the Working party on the Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs of the ECE at its 15th Session, March 1963, henceforth to carry out jointly with the Codex Alimentarius Commission its recently started work on fruit juice standards. The Commission also heard a detailed statement from the Vice-Chairman of the Group of Experts on Fruit Juices of this Working Party, Mr R. Samplawski of Poland. The Commission agreed to this recommendation, and to the program of work proposed by the ECE as follows: -
Draft standards for these categories are being made available to the Group by the International Federation of Fruit Juice Producers.
57. The Commission requested the resulting Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Commission Group of Experts on Fruit Juice Standards to submit its draft texts for finalization by the Commission in accordance with the Commission's normal procedures. For this purpose the Commission further requested its members who were also members of the ECE to make parallel recommendations in this sense to the ECE at the appropriate time.
58. (See para. 66 below)
59. (See para. 66 below)
60. The Commission had before it notes on the work in hand in this field by the European Economic Community and the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now the Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission) prepared by these bodies.
61. The Commission established a world-wide Expert Committee on these products open to all member countries of the Commission. The Government of Switzerland was invited to accept responsibility for this Expert Committee and, after acceptance, was designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8.
62. The Commission decided to set up a world-wide Expert Committee to cover all types of carbohydrate sweetening matters. The Government of the United Kingdom accepted responsibility for this Expert Committee and was designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8.
63. The Commission had before it a note prepared by the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius (now the Advisory Group for Europe of the Commission) on its work in this field.
64. The Commission set up a world-wide* Expert Committee, open to all member countries of the Commission, to elaborate draft standards for honey. It was understood that the Government of Austria was willing to retain responsibility for this Expert Committee and was therefore designated by the Commission to this effect under Rule IX.8.
65. On the proposal of the Government of Czechoslovakia the Commission considered the question of international standards for soft drinks and beer. The Commission accepted an offer by the Government of the United Kingdom to prepare a background paper on soft drinks for consideration and possible further action by the Commission at its next session. The Commission decided not to give further consideration for the time being to the question of standards for beer.
